Toimi Pitkänen
Toimi Johannes Pitkänen (born May 23, 1928 in Kuhmalahti ; † September 17, 2016 in Valkeakoski ) was a Finnish rower who reached the finals in four Olympic competitions and won two medals.
Career
Toimi Pitkänen, who is 1.83 m tall, competed at the Olympic Games in Helsinki in 1952 together with Veijo Mikkolainen and helmsman Erkki Lyiinen in two with helmsman . The Finns reached the final in front of their home crowd with two victories in the respective hope runs, but only finished fifth and last in the final.
At the European Championships in 1955 , Pitkänen together with Veli Lehtelä and helmsman Matti Niemi won the silver medal in two with a helmsman behind the boat from Switzerland. The following year the three rowers competed in a four-man team with Reino Poutanen and Kauko Hänninen and won the title at the European Championships in 1956 . At the Olympic Games in Melbourne in 1956, the Finns won the bronze medal with two tenths of a second ahead of the boat of the Australian hosts, the Italian boat won over the Swedes.
In the following years Pitkänen and Lehtelä competed in two without a helmsman . At the European Championships in 1958 , the two won their second European title after the title in the foursome in 1956. In the following year at the Olympic Games in Rome in 1960, the two Finns won the bronze medal behind the boats from the Soviet Union and Austria. In 1961, the German two-man won the 1961 European championships ahead of the Finns. In the same year Pitkänen and Lehtelä won the Henley Royal Regatta . At the end of his career, Pitkänen reached the final together with Lehtelä at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo , but here they finished sixth and last.
Pitkänen won 29 Finnish rowing championships in the course of his career, and was active as a cross-country skier in winter. His main job was in a chemical factory.
literature
- Volker Kluge : Summer Olympic Games. The Chronicle II. London 1948 - Tokyo 1964. Sportverlag Berlin, Berlin 1998, ISBN 3-328-00740-7 .
Web links
- Toimi Pitkänen in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
- Toimi Pitkänen at Worldrowing.com ( FISA database )
- European championships in two without a helmsman on sport-komplett.de
- European championships in two with a helmsman on sport-komplett.de
- European championships in four with a helmsman on sport-komplett.de
Footnotes
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Pitkänen, Toimi |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Pitkänen, Toimi Johannes (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Finnish rower |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 23, 1928 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Cow malahti |
| DATE OF DEATH | 17th September 2016 |
| Place of death | Valkeakoski |